I wanna thank everybody for coming out tonight. We are, um, currently waiting to, uh, gain quorum. Um, but before we do gain quorum, we do have an op. We do have some ceremonial things that we'd like to do, um, before we officially convene the meeting. Um, and I understand there are representatives from city councilmen, uh, Riley's office here and the borough president's office. If you could, um, come forward and be prepared to present a special presentation. Is this the Borough President's office coming up? Councilman Riley, please come forward. And then the Borough President's office, if you'd also come forward.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson's, representative and council member, Kevin Riley's, representative of both here, and they have special presentations to, uh, uh, me. Okay. And you can begin? Yep. Okay. Great. Hi everybody. My name is Andy tios. I serve as a constituent liaison for Council member Riley. Um, I want to begin by thanking everybody for allowing me the opportunity to join you guys today. Uh, due to a last minute scheduling change, a council member is unable to attend in person, but I'm proud to be here on his behalf to honor Mr. Shepherd's contributions to our education system,
to families across the Bronx and to New York City as a whole. Now I'm going to share council member Riley's, uh, remarks. I want to take a moment, not just as a, as a council member, but as a fellow father, Bronx Native, and advocate for public education to reflect on what it means to honor someone like Thomas Shepherd. I've had the privilege of witnessing Mr. Shepherd's unwavering dedication to our families, schools, and students. His commitment isn't for show. It's genuine, steady, and driven by a clear vision for our community success. Representa representation matters, especially in education.
Mr. Shepherd's presence, his leadership, his example as an involved father, a public school graduate, a veteran and an advocate has shifted the narrative around who shapes our education system. In communities like ours where schools are often under-resourced and families overlooked, Mr. Shepherd's voice brought visibility to the table, and he made sure that the Bronx was not ignored. He's shown that parents have the power to make real change in our schools. From title one, parent rep to vice chair of the PEP, from Head Start to district 75, from PTA meetings,
to board meetings, Mr. Shepherd's journey has always centered around one mission, our children's success. And now, oh. And now on behalf of council member, uh, Kevin C. Riley, and the New York City Council, it is my great honor to present the following proclamation. Uh, Kevin C. Riley, council member of the 12th District is proud to honor Thomas Shepherd upon his retirement as the Bronx Community Education Council President's representative on the New York City Public Schools Board, New York City panel for educational policy for his outstanding leadership and enduring contributions to the community.
And Mr. Shepherd has truly distinguished himself through his outstanding leadership and is worthy of the esteem of all New Yorkers. Now, therefore, be known that Kevin c Rowley, council member, the 12th District, gratefully honors Thomas Shepherd for his outstanding leadership and enduring contributions to the community and wishes him continued success in all his future endeavors. Sign this 18th day of June in the year of 2025. Kevin C. Riley, council Member 12th District Bronx. Congratulations Mr. Shepherd. Tom, I think you might as well stayed there. Um, I think there's more
Good evening pep members, DOE staff, parents, families, advocates. I stand before you as your representative, the Bronx Bar President Vanessa l Gibson. My name is Nelson Palacios. I am the Director of Education and Youth Services. Today, I wanna speak to you personally. You have elevated the voices of the families and students of the Bronx. You show up every single day. Even when I come to these meetings, when you speak,
sometimes you challenge your pep, um, colleagues to the point that sometimes they don't want to hear you. But without your voice for the, for on all your services, for all these years, the educational landscape here in the Bronx would not have changed to see the progress that has been achieved over the past few years. So, on behalf of the Bronx Borough President,
Vanessa l Vanessa Gibson, I want to present you with a citation of merit, which reads, in recognition of your commitment and dedication to our borrow, I commend you for your ambition and hard work over the years as a community organizer, education activist, veteran, and Bronx Community Education Council presidents representative, your leadership to the New York City Public School Board and panel of educational policies has had a tremendous impact on our students and families.
We are forever grateful your, for your devotion and service to our borough, which exemplify the essence of public service. For these reasons and more, on behalf of the more than 1.4 million residents, I, Vanessa l Gibson, president of the Borough of the Bronx Salute, you signed Vanessa l Gibson on this day, June 18th, 2025. Thank you so much for your service. Okay, so, so Tom, I don't know if you wanted to offer comment now or do you wanna reserve everything to until the end? How Howard would you That's fine. That's fine.
And, and as Tom and I, uh, talked about earlier, I'm gonna stop the clock, which is very unusual if, if you know me, that's kind of unusual. So, uh, uh, um, thank you Chair Faulkner. Um, I think I wanted to come down here today because you can't hear me. Oh, alright. You know what, how about this one? Uh, much better. Alright, so thank you Chair Faulkner for, um, giving me the opportunity to, to speak.
Um, I think the first thing I want to do is take this moment, or start by just acknowledging our students. It's another school year that is coming to an end, right? So we have our students that have made it through another year, our students that are graduating, and that's why we're all here because of our students. So I wanted to just start by acknowledging and celebrating them. Um, I also
am cognizant of the fact that while this moment is one that lends itself normally to celebration, um, I also have to acknowledge that there are students that didn't make it this year. You know, I want to uplift the name of Yvette Jeffrey, who didn't make it this year because of violence in our streets. But I also want to uplift Dylan in the Bronx and our student from Ridgewood Queens who didn't make it
because of the violence of a federal government that whisked them away before they were ready to leave. Isaac Newton once said that if I, if I have seen farther than others, it's by standing on the shoulders of giants. And I wanna start by thanking the parents of New York City, because those are the shoulders that I stand. I want to thank parents for going to Albany and advocating for our voice to be represented in this space. I want to thank the c cs of this city and the Bronx for electing me five times to represent your voice.
You are truly the giants on who shoulders I stand. And I sincerely hope that my votes and my voice in this space represented you well and that I did right by you. Five years, two mayors and four chancellors ago, I first appeared in this space not knowing, well, knowing the responsibility that was bestowed on me by my CZ colleagues, but unsure whether I would be able to have any kind of real impact. I will say that since I've been here together, and I emphasize together, we've been able to transform this system to be more inclusive
and welcoming to our students with disabilities and our students with dyslexia who struggle with reading. And although we still have much more work to do, we've been able to make much needed repairs and modifications to our schools and our sports facilities that have suffered for decades of neglect together. We've been able to save some of our schools, like PS 88, and add a Bard High School early college program in the Bronx and in Brook and in Brooklyn. And we've added a South Bronx and central Brooklyn Literacy Academy
to give our students more access to the types of programs that our communities desperately need. Together, we were able to push this system to change the fair student funding formula, to add a weight for students in temporary housing and add more languages to support the largest and most diverse city in the country. And probably the world. Now, saying all of that, we have not arrived, saying that there is so much that we still need to do. And as parents, we still need to fight for, we need to fight
to make sure that our students have equitable access to a quality education, one that is culturally responsive, one that respects their way of learning and gives them all the support they need as a system. We need to ensure that our students do not feel like they're being policed, that they feel safe, that they feel comforted, and that they are given all the tools that they need to learn.
And as a system, we need to do more to make sure that parent voice is not represented by an individual, but rather represented by all of you on who showed as I stood for five years. And I think the last thing I want to just say tonight is just from a personal space. So I was a little late today, first time in five years that I've been late, and I was late because I had to get my girls
ready for their proms. So they are graduating high school this year, both of them. And they did it with some urgency because they graduated one and two years early from high school. And I'm saying this to my girls, I'm saying this to my babies, I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you. I hope I did. You proud. I hope that all the fight that we did, all the spaces we were in, all the battles we fought, I I hope that you get to grow up
and be the best versions of yourself, that you get to move in this world and be unapologetic. That you can be proud to be black, and that nobody can stop my son sitting in the audience. Son, I want the world, I want you to have everything that I could have. And that's why I've been up here fighting all these years because you and your neighbors and your friends, you don't deserve it. You have a right for it. You have a right to it. And I hope I did right. I hope I did well.
I hope that I have made you proud of me, and I look forward to seeing what's next for all of you. I look forward to seeing what's next for my community. And like I said, none of us have arrived. We still got a lot of work to do. We can celebrate what we've been able to accomplish and acknowledge, but still needs to be done. So with that, I'm just going to wrap up with this. This has never been about me. It's always been about us. I believe in an African philosophy.
It's called Ubuntu. And now you've all heard it takes a village to raise a child, which for me is really kind of the watered down version of Ubuntu, which means I am, because we are, I do not exist alone and not do you. We live in a community where our neighbors are us and we are our neighbors. So let's look after each other. Let's take a moment to celebrate our students, celebrate our children, acknowledge the ones
who aren't here and commit to doing better. Commit to doing right by them. And you know what? I'll be right there with you. Thank you, chair Faulkner. And I yield back. Thank, thank you panel member. Thank you. You know, you keep, you know, Earl, we had a chance to speak earlier today, and as you were speaking just now, and you referenced your children, and I realized that in a lot of ways they served with you because there were days. I mean, today is your daughter's prom,
and you had to sort of split time to be here. And I know what that means. And, uh, so, so I just wanna thank your kids for allowing you to have that time to contribute and work for all of the kids in New York City. And I, so, um, your son is here and I thank, I thank him and I thank your daughters and I thank your entire family for allowing you that, for allowing for, for sharing you with the panel for education policy. And, uh, you know, and, and so, and, and that she was speaking to just occurred to me that when all of us and a lot of members of the panel, when they serve, um,
they take time away from family, they take time away from our obligations in order to, uh, do this service. And so, um, I think I thought it was important to thank them and to thank you for your service. Um, and, and I know we're not gonna say goodbye 'cause I assume if you're sitting out in the audience, you'll either be sitting out there yelling at us. Yep. Um, which, you know, we'll receive. Uh, but holding. But it's really about holding accountable, um, holding the panel accountable and continuing that, that, uh, uh, role, uh, no matter where, what you know in which space it'll be in. So thank you again for your service.
Um, one second. Uh, what you'll notice this evening is this is gonna be a period of, um, a number of transitions. People coming, uh, will be coming onto the panel. There'll be people who will be leaving the panel. This will be their last meeting. And one of the groups that will be leaving us today are our student panel members. We have some student panel members who have served for a year and have served with, I think, way beyond their, their years have served with great distinction. And the panel wanted to do something to recognize each of your service, uh, throughout this year.
So I first wanna recognize, um, the, the two panel members who started out with us this past year, and, uh, ask that you please join us. And that is Dalia and Isaiah, please come over. Be shy. You're never shy before. So, um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna read, I'm gonna read one, but it's the same for each of you. Um, this is an order of appreciation, be it sole ordered that on 19 June 2 0 0 20 25, the panel for education policy for the City
of District School, district of New York issues an order of appreciation to Diaz Chen for dedicated and invaluable service to the students of New York Public Schools. You have embodied the pillars set forth by this governance body and the unifying tenants to represent the diversity of voice opinion within New York City public school community while promoting equity and education. The panel's goal is to forge the key to a brighter future for all New York City Public School families. And firmly believe that education is a fundamental right.
You have consistently shown through both your words and actions. Public service and leadership are powerful tools for improving policy at all levels of government governance. Therefore, be it pro be so be it. Therefore, so proclaimed that this order of appreciation is provided to Dahlia Diaz Chen for achievement and service to the New York City Public Schools for the 2025 academic year. And is signed by Gregory Faulkner, chair Panel for Education Policy. And Dr. Angela Green Vice Chair Panel for Education Policy. And we have one for, and we have one for Isaiah Jun.
Isaiah is also served with us. And we thank you Isaiah as well. Um, these two citations represent your service this past year, your service in the past. But I wanted to recognize your service in the future. 'cause I know that we're gonna, we're gonna read about you, we're gonna hear about your leadership in the future, and I tried to think of something that represents leadership. So, you know, I use the gap. I don't use it as much as I, as I should with this group, but I, but I do have a gavel that's presented to me as the leader. And I wanted to give each one of you a gavel and, and what I want you to do,
and here's your, here's your little camera. And, uh, what I wanted you to do, and the reason I'm giving that to you, is I want you, when you are in a leadership capacity at some point in the future, and when you're striking that gavel, I want you to think back to your service on the New York City Panel for Education Policy. And this is where it all began. So thank you so much. And I know you had some compatriots with you. Julia Nessa. Did I pronounce that right? Julia, this is for you. Thank you for your service. Um, she's sitting in today and so we want to thank you and Cassandra Sincia, did I pronounce Sinia? And this is for you, ladies and gentlemen.
Let's recognize our student panel members and the service that they've provided. Yes, we can. Great. Sure, sure. They want photo op. Go ahead. Photo get used to it guys. You don't want me in the photo? Okay, great. Okay. And uh, so that brings us back. We're now, um, again, we're waiting, hopefully we'll shortly have a quorum. Um, and, uh, while we haven't officially called the meeting to order and why we cannot conduct any official business is we're waiting to, um, have one or two panel members arrive
and we can officially begin, uh, quorum. And, uh, so we anticipate them. Okay. Yeah. You know what, what we can do, yeah, what I'm gonna do is ask our translators to please come forward. And what we're gonna do is we'll move to general public comment, which normally happens at the end of the meeting. We're gonna move that forward and allow for general public comment to take place. Um, now, so if you've signed up for general public comment, get ready. Um, and, uh, and so if the translators can please come forward, we need the translation services folks to come up. Um, before we call folks for general public comment,
I guess you, you can use that mic. Okay. Yeah. You don't have to come all the way around. You can use, there's a mic up here if you wanna No, This, Use the closest mic. You can begin. Uh, the she. Good evening. Thank you. Is that, is that everyone? Okay, great. So, uh, we'll begin with, uh, general public comment. Um, I'll call the speak people who have signed up to speak, uh, Maria Morales, Darrell White, Mauri Gonzalez, Megan Ard, and Asa Rodriguez.
Um, this is just on public comment. You've signed up. Those people can come forward. If I called your name, where's everybody else, you can speak. Just say your name for the record, please. Um, my name is AA Rodriguez. Uh, I am an ESL teacher. I am a student activities director, student government advisor. Everything every other had, and I'm here not only to celebrate Tom, who's been an excellent ally, but also because there's some things that are surfacing for my students that are creating a lot of anxiety and a lot of, um, mental health issues. One is the deep feeling that nothing is going to be done
for students who feel threatened because of their immigration status. Um, this is coming from the kids. They don't feel like there has been enough of a response. And I want you guys to sit in that feeling right now because as an ESL teacher, those are the kids I teach who feel threatened. Those are the only kids I teach. So that's all my kids who are feeling this way. That's number one, to have it in the news and stuff. That's number one. Number two is the great big feeling that not only abandonment,
but feeling as if there's no place for them to even express that. One of the ways that we do that is respecting their mental health, and that is with restorative justice with circles, which teaching the kids how to communicate effectively teaching leadership. And I'm here to give an overwhelming rebuke to the resolution that was passed by a so-called Council for high school in the most terribly written resolution that came to a very illogical conclusion. And that has insulted the work of thousands
of people who've been learning how to teach themselves and teach others how to come to a peaceful resolution. How to reintegrate and how to celebrate, how to communicate. I don't think that it's fair for those people to have written something to write off the work of so many. And that's it. Thank you. Um, if I called your name, come to the microphone. Otherwise I can call the next group of names. Hi everyone, my name is Mayuri Gonzalez and I am the Campus Community School Director at the Taft Educational Campus.
And I am speaking about contract item 32. That's on today's agenda. I wanna emphasize the critical meeting. Excuse me. Um, we're not doing the business part of the meeting, so can you wait till that part of the meeting if you just general comments? No problem. You just called my name so I didn't No, like you your sign. We can, I'll move you to the other part of the speaking. Thank you. Yes, thank you. Maria Morales. I did call her name. So if you wanna make your way down, you as if you were signed up for public comment. Yes. Hi, good evening. My name is Megan Ard and I'm a proud parent
of a student in District 11 located in the Bronx. My comment today is to discuss why the Bronx does not have a citywide g and T program. This is very concerning to me. 'cause often there are lots of high performing students in our district and in the Bronx at, at large, and they do not have, we do not have the capacity to serve all of those students. And while we can historically talk about, you know, the detrimental, uh, effects of GNT programs, we can talk about the racism, the exclusionary tactics that
that program is, has served historically. I do wanna talk about like the specific short-term things that we can do right now. And I really think that having that in the Bronx would serve our students. Um, for example, I've applied to the citywide district pro, um, the citywide GNT program in Manhattan. Tag Young Scholars last year for my child. And he was placed 277 on that list, 277 for second grade. You cannot tell me that I'm the only family that was from the Bronx that wanted to be in that program.
Knew how well it was and what it could do for my student, for my child. 277, I want that to sink in. That is a very, very high number. I spoke with the parent coordinator there and she said, outside of Manhattan, 'cause it's located in Manhattan, the largest contingent of families and students are from the Bronx. The PTA president there is from the Bronx. There's no reason that our students can't have that type of educational foundation for them. We know that our children are capable, we know that they are intelligent.
We know that they can thrive in that situation. There's no reason that they should be traveling to Manhattan, traveling to Queens, traveling to Brooklyn to get an outstanding education that's on their level. I think that's really important. I think that's something that needs to be addressed in the immediate. And then I think we should also be discussing how at certain points, I'm actually, I'm sorry, your time has expired. Okay. I want everybody to think about that. Thank you for your time. Thank You everybody. By the way, you can follow up with us if there's additional information, um, or if you have something in writing, you could present that
to a member of the DOE staff and we'll be able to follow up with you or email to our panel. Alright, thank, I think that would be something that we could follow up on. No, I think that's a mistake I signed up for the, um, resolution on the transportation. Yeah, we haven't adjourn. We haven't officially begun the meeting yet because we're waiting quorum. Those are agenda items that have to be taken of, been of once we officially get in the way. Sure. Uh, there are other people who signed up for general comment. Um, Amy s um, Rashida Brown Harris was that Leticia Thompson
and Nelson Moore. You can make your way down and speak Chair Faulkner, I'm starting to take this personal, what I do, I said I you switched up the game. The folks who did sign up will be here soon. Everyone knows general comments are at the end. Okay. The problem is that we don't, I know forum, so we kind of, you know, I try to I understand. Move things along sub All right. Listen. So in other words you mean that there are people on the way who anticipated that they would speak at the end? Absolutely. Well, we'll, we're gonna allow 'em to speak. Okay. Yeah. We'll let 'em speak. All right. We're moving things along. So peace and blessings, everyone.
My name is Rashida Brown Harris. My pronouns are she her, hers. I am a parent leader with new settlement pac Parent Action Committee. I work with the Healing Center Schools working group in the Bronx with Bronx Legal Services. And, um, I'm a New Yorker. I'm a Bronx girl, born and raised, but I lived a little bit of everywhere in all of the boroughs. So I definitely represent a little bit of here and a little bit of there. I am here to thank the panel for, um, a great year and to thank Tom Shepherd, most of all for all of your hard work and dedication.
I remember the first time I met you, I was just like, all right, who's this dude? I gotta figure him out. Is he really real? Um, or is he just trying to get, you know, I don't know, clout or something or another? But the more I got to know him, the more I realized he was definitely genuine. I, myself, personally, was raised, um, by a single black man. My father raised my older sister, my older brother, myself, by himself with the help of the community. Um, so I always do gravitate towards men who are able to take that role on, um, as a single parent, which is far
and few in between, especially as black men. So for that, I love you and respect you. I honor you for all that you do. Your kids are definitely proud you, um, above and beyond of what you've done, um, and what you will continue to do. You've changed the game right here for Pep. You've changed the game, okay? And believe it or not, you've brought so much more, um, understanding of this whole, um, policy for educational panel, um, to a lot of folks who didn't know they exist. Thank you, Tom, for all that you do.
We're gonna miss you dearly on the pep, and thank you for the rest of the pep members. Thank you, Bx. Good evening. My name is Nelson Mar. Um, in my day job, I work as a, an attorney in education law. And, uh, but personally, I'm a parent of three children, all of them public school students. Um, and myself, I've, I've attended public schools in New York City. Um, I I just wanna say that, you know, uh, wanna thank Tom Shepherd for his great work on the panel.
You know, uh, we don't often get, you know, these true, uh, voices of justice and, and equity on the panel. Um, I, I thank you for all the time that you've spent trying to give that voice to this panel because it, it hasn't always been there. And, um, it's, it's sorely gonna miss be missed. Um, but hopefully there will be others who will follow in your footsteps, but certainly not fill your shoes. Thank you, Tom. Good? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Um, we have good news. We've now have a quorum. So quorum gets a flaws. So, uh, so I can now officially, first of all, my name is Greg Faulkner and I'm the chair of the Panel for Education Policy. And we can now officially begin our meeting. Um, and I would ask our secretary to please call the role. Yes. Uh, would I call your name, please indicate your presence. Um, Marielle Ali. Uh, Adriana Ali, present, uh, Phoebe. Sade Arnold is absent. Shirley Bin. I am present the Boogie Girl Bronx. Aaron Boad.
Aaron Bobert. Uh, Camille Kareti is absent. Marjorie Deans, Dr. Miriam Benze Ellis Present. Amy Fair. Anita Garcia. Absent, uh, Anthony Giardano, Excused. These Oh, not, not coming. Yeah, they're all here. Okay. Um, vice chair, Dr. Angela Green, honor, uh, Navid Hassam. Uh, Alice Ho present, uh, Rema Esto, uh, Dr.
Darling Meme. Uh, Dr. Sharon Owin, a Ong Maisha s Tom Shepherd here. Venus Sen. Uh, Manny Tavaris. Absent and Chair Faulkner Present. We have 13 members here. We have a quorum meeting, may proceed. Great news. Thank you. And thank you all for your patience and allowing us to alter the agenda so we can move a little bit of business forward.
Um, our first order of business is of course, to hear from our chancellor and welcome chancellor to the meeting. And the floor is now yours. Good evening everyone. Thank you so much. It's great to be here. Home in District 11. Um, definitely want to acknowledge our superintendents. Um, we're this great district. So we have, in the community school, we have Christine Vaughn, Bronx High Schools, eight, 10, and 11. We have Superintendent Marcel Deans who was with us this evening. Um, we also have Superintendent Angela Louiston and Esperance, who also represents, um,
different schools here in District 11. And Happy Juneteenth. We are celebrating Juneteenth tomorrow, which is huge, and we should always remember, especially in these times how important it is. Uh, happy Father's Day and happy Eid. Happy Pride Month. Caribbean American Heritage Month. Lots to celebrate, not to mention another school year, coming to an end in seven days. About three or four hours. No one's counting, but so to the class of, to all the class of 2025.
Um, congratulations. I also, of course, wanna thank our chair, chair Ner, vice Chair, Dr. Green, and all of Pep, um, and the amazing principals here on the Columbus campus. Um, we have schools, our schools represented here. Astor Collegiate Academy, Bronxdale High School, collegiate Institute for Math and Science, high School of Language and Innovation Fellow Prep, P 10 X and RYAB, C, and Adult Ed D 79 Programs. Those are all led by principals, Virgos, white, Nelson, Nerman, Farone, Rita, Willoughby, and Dorsett.
We have three Pivotal Chancellor's regulations up for consideration this evening, CRA four 20 and a 4 21. Advanced equity and accountability within our school investigative processes by directly providing resources to students, families, and principals. These amendments to recenter the process of transparency for students and families, while also providing greater time and resources for principals to conduct investigations while running a school. CRA 6 63 makes New York City Public Schools a more inclusive and welcoming school system by increasing the number
of covered languages to 12, creating school-based language access coordinators and providing foundational training for school personnel on how to best access, uh, how to provide access to our multilingual communities. As you know, there is a new law from the state disallowing the use of cell phones during class in all public schools as part of the law, we need to post our cell phone policy by August 1st. That requires updating our existing regulation on cell phones, which is Chancellor's regulation. A four 13 PEP will vote on this proposed
regulation update in July. It is posted online on our website schools.nyc.gov for public comments to everyone here tonight. To everyone listening, please review and share feedback. It is really important that our, uh, regulation, um, reflects your voices. And we know that many schools have already been using this regulation. Um, but now that this is, this is a mandate, we wanna make sure that all your voices are heard. The panel is considering tonight a resolution related to our bus contracts. I appreciate the pep using their voice to bring attention
to this important topic. We also are very interested in improving our bus contracts, which we have been extending the same bus contracts for 46 years. And they don't give our students and families what they need in terms of service flexibility and accountability. And we believe that state legislative change is, would help us, would help us finally get better contracts. Unfortunately, we know state legislative session concluded yesterday without any change in this area. Although we are very appreciative of the efforts made by our partners in both the State Senate and Assembly to move this forward,
particularly Senator Jackson and Assembly Member Tapia. We now need to extend again to ensure we have busting this fall. We agree with the premise of this resolution. A shorter extension would be better. I would urge PEP to remember that given this is a negotiation with the bus companies, we unfortunately cannot dictate all the terms. That's why getting the EPP legislation done in Albany and Rebidding ASAP is so important, which I know is the PEPs priority as well. We do expect to bring a short term emergency extension to the PEP soon while we continue to negotiate with vendors. It's hard to believe we've already, we're already at the end
of the school year, and I'm very proud of the work that we've done. We've expanded reading New York City reads and solves to 180 schools growing. We are expanding reads and solve to 180 school six schools next year, growing future ready to another 50 schools. We launched N-Y-C-P-S Cares, which includes training over a thousand family connectors. We're expanding pre-K and three K with $167 million in funding. Funding is now being provided to hire 3,700 additional teachers. Due to our compliance with the class size law, we've welcomed over 50,000 newest New Yorkers since 2022.
We are expanding our specialized programs for students with disabilities, and we're opening seven new schools in the fall. And there's so much more to come in closing. And I've had the honor of hearing, um, some very heartfelt comments this evening. And I certainly have had my own experience working with him for many, many years. I wanna close by honoring our longtime PET member and parent leader Tom Shepherd. Tom has had an immeasurable impact on New York City public schools. Tom, I wanna thank you for your dedication and service. We've worked together in a lot of different roles.
Tom, you haven't been able to get rid of me for a long time. And, uh, it's, uh, I wanna thank you for your continued commitment, your advocacy, not only for your children, but for all children. And so at this time, I'd like to present you with a little gift from my office. It's a little heavy for someone as small as me, but it's a proclamation talking about Tom's greatness. Thank you. Thank you very much. Tom. I was almost tempted to give you the floor again. Would you like, would you, no, actually, would you like to respond? Would you like to say something? Think I might as well use all of these opportunities? 'cause this the last one, right? Use that. Use them all on.
Yep. Um, thank you Chair Faulkner. Um, chancellor, I just wanna say, um, thank you. Um, it has been, um, truly an honor getting to know you, um, over the years. And I wanna say thank you for taking my text messages from me. Like I, y'all don't know, but like, whenever something happens, I, I go through this. I, I, I'm in this place where I, um, I, I feel it personally.
And, um, I, I always reach out, um, uh, to the chancellor and I said, look, this is happening. What can we do? This is what's going on. This is how it makes me feel. This is how it makes the community feel. And then we go back and forth with that and we, we have conversations in a really human way. And, um, I think a lot of that is missing from our systems nowadays where we communicate with each other as human beings who are all dealing with the same types of issues. And, um, you know, thank you so much
for everything that you do. Um, thank you for providing, um, grace and, uh, elevating the dignity of our students and, uh, for our families. I think it means a lot. And I just wanted to say thank you so much. Thank you, Tom. The next, when the agenda is one of my, oh, exit. Yeah, we need to amend the, uh, right. I, I neglected to call our student members, um, so they can indicate that they're present. Isaiah Tan, present,
and Julia Nassef Present. And Lara LA is here for, um, controller Brad Lander. Great, thank you. And that, that's a great setup because it leads into one of the most, uh, one of the parts of the agenda that I really like, and that's hearing from our students. So, um, at this point, I'll, um, introduce our two student trustees, uh, student panel members who will, uh, offer comments. And, uh, first, uh, student panel, member panel. Vanessa, if you have comments at this time. Uh, Good evening everyone. My name is Julia Sev. A little bit louder. We can't hear. Sorry. My name is Julian Sev.
I'm a junior at Townville High School, a student leader and someone who cares deeply about fairness, safety, and student voice. I've served on student councils and advisory committees because I believe policies should reflect the experiences of, of people they affect, especially students. I'm also a proud member of our student pep squad. And while this is my first time speaking on stage, I've been attending these meetings each month and listening closely. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I wanna begin by expressing sincere appreciation for the thoughtful attention given to chancellor's regulations.
A four 20 and a 4 21. A four 20 defines and prohibits corporal punishment by school staff, and outlines how those incidents are investigated. A 4 21 does the same for verbal abuse. Laying out what behavior crosses the line and what happens when it's reported. These policies are far more than paperwork. They determine whether students are supported or signed lines when they need us educators, leaders, and advocates most, but policies only work if students feel safe using them. No student should ever feel scared or intimidated to report mistreatment by an adult.
That's why it's so important to build a culture of trust where students know they'll be believed and protected if they speak up. When educators are equipped, equipped to respond with compassion and understanding, speaking up shouldn't come at the expense of the student's confidence to advocate for themselves. At the same time, I believe we can go even further by putting more focus on prevention. What if we prepared these policies with clear behavior expectations for staff, restorative practices and empathy based training rooted in dignity and student development. With the right tools, educators can address conflict
or disruption in ways that prevent harm and build stronger relationships. Reducing the need for investigations in the first place. A four 20 and a 4 21 should not just hold adults accountable when harm occurs. They shouldn't. They should help create school environments where harm is less likely to happen at, at all. That said, I'm concerned that many students don't even know their rights, especially when it comes to verbal abuse by staff. Is there a clear student friendly scale that helps us recognize when words cross the line and when it's serious enough to report without that confusion leads to silence.
And silence allows harm to go unchecked. And what about our youngest students? Elementary and middle schoolers are even less likely to understand what's okay and what's not. How are we making sure they know when to speak up and feel safe? Doing so, a solution could be co-created guidelines, posters, and grade level assemblies that clearly outline verbal boundaries and reporting steps. Empowered students speak up, infor informed students feel heard. I also wanna talk about something painful. The idea that schools should be safe. Havens recent events have shown how fragile the sense
of safety can be. For example, Dylan, a 20-year-old high school student in the Bronx was detained by ICE after attending what he believed would be a routine asylum hearing. This happened off ground, off school grounds, but its emotional impact reaches directly into our classrooms. When students see one of their own suddenly removed despite following legal procedures and having no criminal record, it sends a chilling message. That kind of fear is not theoretical. It affects attendance, focus, and a student's ability to feel secure at school. While New York City public schools and the PEP have taken steps to support immigrant students.
Situations like this show us that more can and should be done. We ne we need clear and public sanctuary protocols, multilingual communication for families, and visible commitments to student safety so that no one is left Wondering where schools stand. Trust is not built on promises alone. It's built on action that students and families can feel and rely on. Moving on, I'm encouraged by the updates to transfers regulations A 6 6 3, which guarantees LA language access for families who speak a language other than English. The amendment expands interpretation
and translation services to four additional languages, making a total of 12. So even more families can fully understand and engage with what's happening in their children's school. Anything that clarifies rights and improves access to support, whether mental health, translation services or academic. A accommodate accommodation serves students and families. Transparency builds trust. Trust builds success. And on the issue of student transportation and the resolution, protecting employees for many students, especially those with disabilities, the school bus is not just transport.
It's a lifeline. The drivers and staff who manage those roots shape the first and last moments of our school day, protecting their rights and ensuring safe, reliable service isn't just practical. It's an act of caring for our most vulnerable students. I also want to raise a practical concern. I've been hearing from both students and staff the ongoing challenges around phone collection policies. Many students don't wanna be res, many teachers don't wanna be responsible for holding our or locking up phones, not only because it adds to their workload, but because it can become costly
or risky if a device is lost, damaged, or stolen. If we're going to enforce rules around phone use, we need a system that's fair, secure, and doesn't place extra responsibility or risk on educators or unfairly impact low income students who can't afford to lose their only means of communication. Beyond that, many students rely on their phones to stay connected with their families, especially those who have jobs or caregiving responsibilities. Phones are often essential tools for communication, coordinating work schedules or emergencies. Any policy that limits access must consider these realities.
And in a large school with thousands of students, enforcing phone collection and return fairly and efficiently is a huge challenge. Without clear, practical procedures, these policies risk causing frustration, confusion, and unintended consequences for both staff and students. Thank you again for your time, dedication and for being here tonight. My hope is that we continue centering student experiences, creating systems that protect both our minds and our dignity, and never lose sight of the fact that behind every name in the system is a real person. Thank you. Thank, thank you very much, Pam, Vanessa, for that very,
uh, uh, comprehensive presentation. We appreciate it. Uh, we'll next hear from panel member Tan June. Good evening. Firstly, I'd like to thank Chair Faulkner and the panel for education policy for the opportunity to serve and represent New York City Public School students. And it was an honor to do so. I'd like to share remarks on the upcoming cell phone policy, which will be voted on in July. Um, though I'm not affiliated with them, I would like to comment on a resolution advocating for a smartphone school mode feature introduced
by the Citywide Council of High Schools School. School Mode is a proposed smartphone feature that limits access to distracting apps during school hours, while still allowing essential functions like emergency calls, translation tools, and health tracking. It's designed to support learning without fully removing students' access to their devices. Though it does not yet currently exist, this concept is growing in popularity as a middle ground solution to phone use in schools. As a student, I have seen and experienced firsthand how a phone can be both harmful and helpful within the classroom,
and how restrictions are necessary to mediate these issues. However, I recognize how a be to Bell cell phone ban is not just extremely unfavorable among students, but also costly and impractical. Cell phones are essential tools not only for students, but everyone, both inside and outside of school. We rely on our phones for communication, translation, health monitoring, and most importantly emergencies. Taking away these safeguards could leave students vulnerable in situations where every second counts, whether it's bullying a medical crisis
or an outside threat, all of which can and often happen without our own schools. I urge DOE leadership and city officials to push tech companies to make school mode real, not as a punishment, but as a balanced way to support student learning. Mental health and safety school mode could be a smarter, more respectful solution. It could allow access to what we truly need, while limiting what gets in the way of learning. Most importantly, it could recognize that phones aren't the problem. How we use them is. Additionally, I'd like to share that anyone is welcome
to share their thoughts on the upcoming phone policy online, which will be voted on the on in the next month. During the Panel for Education policy meeting, my peers and I had the opportunity to attend a feedback session regarding this matter. Um, additionally, I am deeply disturbed by the recent ice attainments of two New York City public school students, Dylan and an 11th grader from Grover Cleveland High School. While these detentions did not occur on school grounds, the ripple effects are felt across our classrooms, especially among immigrant and undocumented youth,
or that wondering if they can truly feel safe in a system that claims to protect 'em. That fear was further intensified by the recent arrest of New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who was detained by ice while standing in solidarity with immigrant families. We must send a clear and unwavering message. Being a student or an ally in New York City should never come with a fear of detention, displacement, or intimidation as a student, I find it ironic that the New York state's greater worry seems to be locking up students' phones rather than our classmates
being locked up by ice. Great. You, you see why we've marked them for leadership, um, our students here. Um, I want to thank all of the student representatives and thank you for your service this past year and, uh, continue to speak up and, uh, you know, and I want you to know the panel. I'm sure we're all listening to, to your words and the things that you have to say. Um, yes, chancellor, I I, so I, I I have so many words, but I'm at a loss to try to respond to all of that. Um, I, I, I wanna start by saying, you make me incredibly proud. Um, the fact that you participate in such a deep way, um,
on, uh, late Wednesday nights as we come to the close of a school year, um, is if that's not an example of civic responsibility, I don't know what is. So I wanna thank you. Um, a few quick things on the cell phones. I understand that this is a, a, a complicated issue, right? It is a law, and so we will comply, but this is why your input is so important. And I wanna stress that there will be accommodations for children who need to keep their phones, um, for medical purposes. This is all part of the reason why we didn't want
to enforce a cell phone mandate last year when it wasn't a law, because we wanted to use the year to really work with our legal team and our policy team and engage with advocates and, and, and different stakeholder groups around, um, the different best practices to ban cell phones during instructional time. Um, so please make, like, get online, take a look at what we have, give us your feedback. And I am personally inviting you that if you'd like to have a more extensive conversation, I'm happy to, um, speak with you directly and have members of my team present so we can get, um,
further, further information and insight from you. And, um, I wanna thank you for standing up for, um, students and, and other members of our community like Dylan. Um, you are right that even though this did not happen on school grounds, it still impacted a member of our, of our school community. Um, and an attack on one is an attack on all. And this is why know your rights training, know their rights training, um, making sure that we trained, um, everyone in schools around the protocol should a non-local law enforcement, um,
agent attempt to enter school buildings are so important. Um, we don't like to make big value statements without knowing how we are going to, um, activate in, in ways that are rooted in law, right? And so, I, I just wanna thank you for lifting all of these urgent, um, matters and giving us your opinion and co and commend you for being such tremendous leaders. Great. Thank you Chancellor. Thank you. And thank again to our student, uh, panel members. Uh, we'll, we'll now move to open public comment for student, uh, members on our last secretary Nathan, if there are any students who've signed up for general public comment.
Uh, Lila Torres. Lila's here, right? Well, she, of course she's here. The belongs. Okay. Good evening. My name is Lila Torres. I hope you all are having an amazing day. Today I'm gonna talk about busing, school lunch and bullying. First I'm gonna start off with busing. It's the end of the year. I have five days left of school. There's a middle school right above my current school that I wanna go to for next year. Though if I do go for the next three years, my parents are gonna still have to take me to school every morning. 'cause I live outside of the district. My parents would have to take me in a cab rather than me
going on a school bus. I would really like to go to that school, but would it be worth it? No. If my parents stopped to take me to school for the next three years, uh, there should be some sort of change where I could still get a bus, even if I'm not in the district. It's not fair. Also, it's not that far. It's not fair and it would make a big difference. Next school lunch. School lunch has gotten much better since the beginning of the year, and I would like to thank the chancellor for playing an important role in that. But sometimes the school lunch still doesn't taste good. It looks appealing. It has a pretty setup,
but some kids really don't like what they're serving and we're getting the same five options every day. I'm not trying to be picky or anything because it is amazing that we have five options every single day. But some kids don't like the things that we're getting served. Everybody should be able to enjoy lunch that parents tax dollars pay for. So once again, well, not really once. I would like to ask if we could do a survey or something else to make sure that all kids are enjoying school lunch. Last off, I would like to last. I would like to talk about bullying For every Friday the month in my school, we get an assembly on bullying. But do people really think that's gonna work? Having kids sit in a hot auditorium
for 30 minutes talking about bullying, kids are probably zoning out or talking to their friends. There has to be a more effective way of stopping kids from bullying other people. I'm fully aware that it's not like something you could just tell kids to stop doing and they're gonna listen. I currently have a problem at my school that I am getting bullied and a problem happened. They think this sat last Saturday where this girl cursed me out and her mom started yelling at me. And today she cursed me out in front of my teacher, in front of a few other staff members. And my teacher did not say anything at all, wait for her
to finish and said, can you please go to the office? She walked away, did not care. I would like to take accountability that I did say some rude things to her, but not as bad as her cursing me out. A bunch of people witnessed it and literally nothing happened other than her getting told to go to the office. I don't even think she's in trouble, but they're not. But people, I'm not saying kids aren't gonna do stupid things like bully people for no reason, but there has to be some sort of way to get kids to understand the concept that it's not okay to bully people. Even though there's only five days left, I'm considering switching my homeroom so I can enjoy the last five days in my school
that I've been in for the last seven years. Uh, that's all I would like to say. Thank you. Have a great rest of your day. Okay, thank you. Oh, that's the only, oh, that, that is okay. That was the only student speaker. Okay. Uh, we're now getting ready to move into the business portion of our meeting where we'll be voting on, uh, various items. And I'd like to, uh, review with everyone the procedure that we'll be following as we move into the, uh, business portion of the meeting. Um, for those of you who have signed up to speak. So our secretary, secretary Nathan, will call forward speakers from the signup sheet in groups of five during public comment. Everyone who has signed up to speak will be allocated, um,
up to two and a half minutes for public comment and two minutes for general public comment or open comment periods. The clock will indicate the amount of time remaining for each speaker and a light will flash when there is one minute remaining, so that speakers will know when their time is about to expire. Additional time will always be allotted to help facilitate comments that may require public or may require translation. At the end of each speaker's time, we will move on to the next, uh, set of speakers. If a speaker is not present when their name has been called, uh, we will move on to the next speaker.
Once we've moved on to the next speaker, you will not be able to redeem your place in the queue. This portion of public comment is only for agenda items being voted on at tonight's meeting. If you accidentally signed up, uh, to comment during this section, but wish to comment on other matters, please see one of the, uh, department of Education staff members stationed in the back who can help move you, uh, to the appropriate time in the agenda. Comments during these sections should only relate to the proposals that are currently being voted on, um, during that time period. Yes, Chair. I realize there is another student
who was signed up to speak. My apologies. Um, rose, um, also is a student who signed up to speak. Hi, I'm Rose. I'm a student from PSI nine. I'm in fifth grade and I got my yearbook today. And when I look at the pictures, I think of a song. It's a small world. It's a small world, isn't just a song, it's real. It's right here, right now in my city, my school and my classroom when speak more languages. We work together, we laugh together, and best of all, no one else feels left out.
Thank you. Have a great day. Thank You. Thank you for your comments. The the first item up for consideration tonight is the consideration of contracts. I'll ask secretary. Oh, minutes or no? Yes. Is there motion? We have to do Minutes first, Let's adopt the minutes for, uh, the, um, May 28th meeting. Is there a motion to adopt the minutes by unanimous consent? Motion is there. Second? Second is, is there objection to unanimous consent. No hearing, no objection to unanimous consent. The minutes for May 28th are adopted. Yes. Panel. Uh, excuse me. Uh, I would like to kindly ask for motion
to move, uh, voting on, uh, regulation, uh, a 6 63 on the front, because, uh, I would like to ask for then five minute break if the regulation pass and short, uh, photo and, uh, going imaginary cake for, for, uh, celebration this. Because in another way it'll be at the end, our student left, but we're not. You can't, you can't do debate. Um, so you've made a motion that we amend the agenda to move the consideration of which item? Uh, 6, 6 3, Uh, to make that the next item
and then to take a five minute break. Yes. As part of that, please. Is there a second to that motion? I'll second it. Okay. So it moved. And second it. I don't think this is the table. No. So, No, it's not. Okay. So we'll proceed to a vote on, um, amending the agenda to move that item forward, uh, for consideration. So secretary, would you please call the roll? Yes. When I call your, um, name, please indicate how you wish to vote. Um, a yes vote is in favor of moving the agenda and taking a break. A no vote is to keep the agenda as is. I see that we've been joined by, um, Dr. Angela Green.
Um, so I will call the role now. Um, um, member Ali. Um, yes. Um, member Ali, say abstain. Member bin. Abstain. Member Boad Abstain. Uh, member Dean Stag. Stag member EK Ellis. Okay. Is that a yes? Vote Yes. Thank you. Um, member fair? Uh, member Green? No. Angela Green? Yes. Member Hassan.
Yes. Member ho Abstain. Mm-hmm. Uh, member iso? Yes. Um, member Shepherd? Yes. Uh, member chair. Faulkner? No. Wait. I got one, two. I missed somebody I missed. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Dr. Meerman? Yes. Um, the, the motion does not pass. There were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 yeses is one two nos. And six. Six abstentions.
So the agenda stays as is. Okay. Thank you. We'll proceed. Um, the next item is consideration of contracts. Uh, the resolution up for approval is entitled Resolution to Enter into Contract Agreements. Falkner Chair Faulkner? Yes. I move that we consider, uh, resolution for contracts. Oh, yes. Oh, is there a second? Second? Public comment. Uh, there are some speakers who have signed up to speak on contract items. Um, Anna Kovich, Sarah Patto, Daryl White, and Maria Gonzalez.
Um, please, when you get to the microphone, you may speak and, and please announce yourself. Anna Kovich. You, you can begin. Great. Hi, my name is Anna Kovich and I serve as a Senior Community Schools director at Center for Supportive Schools. One of the lead community-based organizations implementing the Community Schools strategy across 24 partner schools right here in New York City. I have had the honor and privilege of doing this work for the past 10 years. First, as a community school director in the South Bronx, and now supporting multiple schools across multiple boroughs, but mostly right here in the Bronx.
The impact of community school services is vast, deep, and reaches across our diverse communities. I've seen firsthand how community schools transform lives by expanding access to physical and mental health care, high quality academic support, adding enrichment programs for students and families, and creating multiple pathways for college and career readiness so that our students can see, can succeed whatever they decide to do after they graduate from high school. The amendment funding, which is number 32 on the list
of contracts in question, is essential to sustaining these services. Furthermore, the one year renewal model that has been in place for the last several years has created instability, delayed payments, and in some cases has caused our community schools to lose critical support. Approving this contract for the next three fiscal years will provide the continuity that our students, families, and communities deserve. We know that community schools work. Let's ensure that they can continue to thrive, and that we can continue to do this meaningful
and impactful work by securing the multi-year funding so that our communities can truly thrive and move forward. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Um, over there to the left. To my left. You that way To my left. Start? Yeah. Sarah Kado, parents to improve school transportation. Good evening. Many important services on the contract agenda can only be fulfilled to the extent that school busing happens reliably, which only happens if we recruit, train, train,
and retain enough workers. Item one contains 3.4 million for paraprofessional services, including for transportation. But when the yellow bus doesn't show up, these para can't work. And if it's about trips, the trip buses don't always show up either. On item 12, we get that coach buses are needed for longer trips. But does this include day trips scheduled to end at, say, three instead of one 30? In those cases, if more drivers and yellow buses were available, we could skip the coach bus and will coach buses include
or exclude students who use wheelchairs? Item 13 Yes. On learning to work programs. But what if multiple students need yellow bus transportation to get to the sites in a safe and expedited manner? Item 20 provides meals at seven non-public schools. But since these are often far from where students stay, any school bus delay will make them miss hot breakfast. OPT often combines three or more schools with the same start times into one route. So somebody will get there late items
14, 15, 29 plus the May contract cited on page 78, costs $150 million. But we know parents who have kept their preschool children with disabilities home for days when the bus route starts taking almost three hours. One final point of grade urgency. Item six is legal services to ensure foreign nationals remain employable in city schools. Good. And what about the foreign nationals employed
by school bus vendors? According to the National Labor Relations Board and the 2022 court ruling in MF versus the DOE, they are also public school employees. One third of the school bus staff are Haitian. We want safety for them. How many have TPS, which expires August 3rd. And who's gonna step up? We're glad you're taking up EPP, but it's a lot of ripple effects of the school bus crisis. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Yeah. The speaker to my right. Hello everyone. My name is Mauri Gonzalez
and I am the Campus Community School Director at the Tap Educational Campus and District nine here in the Bronx. And I'm representing Center for Supportive Schools. Um, I wanna emphasize the critical need for sustained and robust funding to support our community schools, including the amendment contracts that are on item 32 for today's agenda. Approximately two thirds of our yearly budget for our community schools that I serve at the Taft campus, which include Bronx Collegiate Academy, Dreamyard Prep, and Bronx High School for Business. Two thirds of our community school budget comes
from amendment funding. The funding is not just a line item, it's a lifeblood that enables us to provide essential services for our students and our families. Over the 16 years that I have supported New York City schools, I have witnessed how community schools play a transformative role in the lives of our students, offering access to vital physical and mental healthcare, high quality academic support enrichment programs and pathways that are supportive to college and career readiness. However, the current one year renewal model has created an environment of uncertainty. It has led to delayed payments and unfortunately has sometimes resulted in my school's
losing critical services. To truly serve our communities, we need a multi-year funding model. Approving a contract that spans over the next three fiscal years will not only bring stability, but also ensure that our students and families receive the consistent support that they need. And we can adequately plan to do the work that we do best in our schools Community schools work and the impact that we have in our neighborhoods is profound. Please secure the funding necessary for our schools to thrive so we can continue this meaningful work and empower our communities to move forward. Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you. Uh, that's the end of the speakers, people who have signed up for comment on contracts agenda. Okay. We'll now move to panel member comments. Panel Member Shepherd. Thank you, chair Faulkner. Um, I want to one echo. Um, uh, our speakers, um, who spoke to contract item number 32, um, I've said in this space for many years that, um, we have to take a different approach to funding our community schools like funding them on a year
by year basis, uh, does not create the type of stability, um, uh, that allows for our community schools to, um, function. And, um, I would just urge the, um, department of Education to make sure that, and, and I get it right, like funding for community schools comes from different sources. Um, but to the degree that we can, um, let's look at a long-term funding model for our community schools so that they don't have to, uh,
worry about, uh, whether or not they can provide service until the paycheck arrives. Um, the next item I want to speak to very quickly, um, is item number 11. And I am speaking to item number 11, not because I'm opposed, uh, you know, to purchasing the technology the opposite. I think that we need it. Um, what I will suggest in the future is, um, if we can perhaps look at technologies, um, other than Chromebooks.
Um, I have heard from, uh, many students over the years that, uh, Chromebooks themselves, uh, in terms of their functionality is really limited. And, um, you know, lots of the software applications and stuff that we use are simply just not compatible with them. So, um, uh, I will not oppose this contract, but just offer up just, you know, like a, a suggestion that we look at, um, technologies that are going to be compatible long-term with the types of software, uh,
that we are going to be given to our students. So, thank you Chair Faulkner, and I yield back. Thank you. Any other panel members wish to comment, right? Yes. Panel member Alban. Um, good evening, everybody. So first of all, I'm going to say ditto to the public speakers and ditto to Shepherd. Um, I just wanna acknowledge something that I noticed that we save all the big bucks for the last meeting. This, these contracts is a lot of money that we spending, and I hope accountability goes along with that to make sure the monies that we are spending
are actually going to where they need to go. And also would like to, um, also, if I could, I would like to see the contracts 'cause we've gotta make sure we hold our vendors accountable and that they did deliver those services. But, um, I'm not opposed to any of the contracts tonight, but again, we have a lot of needs and supports and so resources that we need to spend that we are not spending in other areas. So we've gotta make sure when we do spend those dollars that they are being accounted for and they are used for the purpose, uh, intended. Thanks. Sure. Thank you. Panel member.
Uh, are there any other panel members who wish to comment on, uh, contracts? I don't see any hands, again, any other panel members? Okay. So let's proceed to a vote. Well, let me just ask, is, is there, is there unanimous consent on this? Is there a motion for unanimous consent? No. So moved Motions unit? No. Oh, he objected. Okay. I didn't hear. I didn't hear you. Okay. So we have objections, unit unanimous consent, so we have to call the roll. Okay. Um, there are no recusals on contract items. And I will call the roll, uh, to approve the resolution to enter into contract agreements.
So when I call your name, please indicate how you wish to vote. If you wish to, um, vote differently on any item, please let me know. Um, member Ali? Yes. Member Ali. Say yes. Member bin. Yes. Member Boad. Yes. Member Dean Stag? Yes. Member Ben Ellis? Yes. Member Fair? Yes. Uh, vice Chair Green? Yes. Member Hassan? Yes. Member Ho. Yes. Member Ro. Yes.
Member Mira May Abstain. Member Shepherd. Yes. Um, and Chair Faulkner. Yes. 8 9 11 13. The resolution passes. 13 Yes. Votes and one abstention. Thank you very much. Thank you everyone. Uh, well next move on to Chancellor Regulation. Uh, is there a motion? Well, you have to, so, yeah. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Got it. Let's just read it. First I have to read resolution. My fault. You have to read it first. The resolution up for approval is entitled Resolution for Amendments to Chancellor's Regulations,
and that includes Regulation A four 20, A 4 21, and a 6 63. No Panel member Shepherd. Yeah. Is there a second to motion? Second. Second. We'll begin with public comment. I, no. Um, okay. Um, the speaker signed up for public comment on the regulation is Sherry font. You may, you may speak. Good afternoon. My name is Sherry Font and thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf
of CSA President Henry Rubio and our city school leaders. And thank you for the hard work. On behalf of New York City's Public Schools, we are here today in support of the proposed changes to the Chancellor's regulations, A four 20 and a 4 21 specifically, those related to school-based investigations. These changes stem from our most recent contract negotiations and represent a genuine and collaborative step forward between CSA and the DOE. For years. CSA has urged the DOE
to recognize the basic truth. School leaders are not investigators. Our schools don't thrive when leaders are stuck behind closed doors, conducting inquiries and writing reports. Children truly benefit when leaders are in classrooms, hallways, and communities. Guiding the work and culture that so greatly impacts children. Every minute they spend on investigations is a minute taken away from leading schools, mentoring staff, supporting families, and most importantly, improving student lives. Through meaningful, through meaningful
and tailored instructional leadership. Over many years, the investigator's burden on principles has been unsustainable. Please know that CSA fully supports the idea that allegations must absolutely be investigated. Safety is paramount count, accountability is essential. And we have full respect for the roles that departments such as OSI and OEI play as well as as SCI, as an outside Investigative investigative agency. These agencies are short staffed
and our principals are deputized to investigate. But investigations are obviously an investigator's primary job. And clearly that not the case for principals. Not every allegation warrants the valuable, limited time and energy of a school leader specifically. And that system needs clearer lines about who investigates what. That's why our most recent contract established a joint labor management committee with a shared commitment and focus charge to reduce the number of school-based investigated investigations where possible
by identifying strategies to streamline the process, reduce the impact on school supervisors, and clarify which investigations should be retained centrally versus refer to schools. I see my time is up. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate It. Uh, that's the only person who has signed up to for public comment on regulations. Sure. We'll now move to general public. Uh, we'll now move panel member comment. Panel Member Shepherd. Thank you, chair Faulkner. Um, I wanna say, uh, in regard to, uh, the, the two chancellor's regulations regarding investigations, um, I have to admit to everyone
that I was a bit stuck, right? Um, I felt that, you know, parents demand that investigations happen expeditiously as quickly as possible. But as I sit here and think about it, um, I, I'm in the place where it's like, do it faster, do it right. And, um, if adding a few more or, or a few more days, uh, to an investigation means that that investigation is done properly and it's done right, then, um, we do, um,
everyone, uh, you know, justice. So, uh, with that, um, I will be supporting, uh, those two regulations. Thank you, chair fa I back. Thank, thank you, panel member, uh, panel member tangent. I know you wanted to be recognized. Um, I'd like to make remarks on chancellor's regulation. A 4 21. Um, to be honest, before this meeting, I had no idea that that regulation even existed. And I don't think that's just a personal oversight. Rather, a reflection of invisibility to the students and parents is meant to protect chances.
Regulation a 4 21 affirms fundamental protections for students against verbal abuse from teachers. However, there's a lack of transparency when it comes to instances like this. How will students, especially younger ones, know to even recognize forms of verbal abuse? Whether a microaggression or even something more blatant, how will they know when a word crosses the line? Most importantly, how will they know they have the support they need to report these instances or confide in someone, even if they're unsure. When students are made unaware of their rights and how to even recognize these wrongdoings, this can lead them feeling unheard and overlooked. Or, in other words, just an obstacle to check off a list,
rather than a student who deserves mutual respect and support. Especially with pressing issues like this. In my own school, I've seen how administration often responds by moving the student who reported the issue out of the classroom. In my opinion, this does not solve the problem, but silences it, this issue remains, but the student is conveniently no longer there to speak up. We need to make sure that these amendments will be made visible, supportive, and grounded in accountability and student wellbeing. Great. Thank you. And thank you panel. Thank you panel member. Are there any additional panel members who wish to comment on this resolution?
I'm looking around. I can't, are you saying yes? Yeah, Let Marielle go. I didn't, I didn't. See the other hand. Who, who wants to go first? Marielle, you can go first. Uh, thank, thank you. Chair Faulkner. Hello. Okay, there we go. Um, just wanted to make a comment on, uh, the amendments to Chancellor's regulation. A 6 63. Um, reflecting on this, I think, you know, in a time where we're seeing exclusion, othering, you know, because of our differences, um, the differences
that make us all unique and beautiful, including where we come from and the languages that we speak. This regulation is a breath of fresh air, um, for more diverse, for more inclusive and more accessible spaces in our New York City public schools. So, as a, um, multi, uh, as someone who loves languages, I'll kind of close out with this. Um, so sh she, and thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Panel member. Uh, yes, Pam Quero. I didn't wanna speak 'cause we're all in
support for the most part. Um, okay. I didn't wanna speak because, you know, we're all in support for the most part in general, about making regulations stronger, being more student centered. Um, but I appreciate our student panel members for bringing up the fact that a lot of the policies that we create are completely foreign to the people we create them to protect. And so, I don't usually, but that was my daughter talking about bullying and where we're in the process of changing a regulation to strengthen it. We absolutely have an obligation to find a way
to get these regulations into student hands, because as we just saw, they are fully capable of understanding and, and the, um, taking that information, analyzing it, and then feeding it back to us with their own input that makes more sense than what we're gonna come up with for them. Right? Nothing without, like, about us, without us. So, I, I just wanna center that we have a lot more work to do than what we did here. But this is a really great first step to strengthen regulations, to, to give students a, a real shot at feeling secure
and a process that will lead to results and not unfounded regulat, um, in investigations or investigations that were ly done or that were put off to somebody who, as CSA mentioned, are not trained to conduct that type of investigation. So I support these regulations as well. Thank you. Great. Thank you very much. Panel member. Any other PA panel member? Uh, Hasan? Yeah, Just quickly, thank you. Uh, thank you Chair Faulkner. Um, and, uh, I would like to speak, uh, in favor of, uh, all of the regulations, but specifically chancellor's regulation. A 6 6 3. Uh, it's a long time coming
where we align the New York City doe, uh, uh, recognized, uh, uh, interpretation and, and translation office to have, uh, more languages, uh, given the number of languages spoken at home in New York City. But also we should look at, uh, how we can add instructional languages and support them from three K to 12th grade two. Uh, this is a great first step and I hope we can all support, uh, the passing of the regulation. Thank You. And, and, you know, thank you also Panama, Hassan, for your leadership in this area. Also, you've had some impact. And, uh, I wanna thank you
for your work you've done in supporting that moving forward. Yes. Panel member RAM Mayor. Um, I would like to thank you, uh, coming to education Councils members who passed a resolution supporting, uh, a language access. I would like to thank you. Uh, next, uh, president who support this letter and support this, uh, uh, idea. Uh, if I mention about, uh, especially committee CC three C committee, CC three, CC 24, who post passed the resolution supporting them, I also like
to thank you CPA who and, and MUAN committee Cha for, for, for that as she's doing, I would like to ask for many. I would like to many people I would like to thank you, counselor and team for, for proceeding this. I would like to thank you members of PEP for this resolution. You, you support is, and I would like to also ask our, uh, mayor who, who promised delivered this, and it, it, it's going on the, on the vote today. So thank you so much for hard work. And it's taken, I think it's taken seven
years to this resolution. Come to this vote from the beginning of the work on this. Thank you so much. Thank you. Any other panel members wish to comment? I, I think, think we're ready for the question. Let's proceed to a vote. Um, say it again. I didn't hear you. Is okay. There's a motion for unanimous consent. Uh, is there a second? Is there, is there objection to unanimous consent hearing? No objection to unanimous consent. Um, the motion is adopted. Okay. We'll now move to a resolution before the panel. And I'm gonna rec well, when Secretary Nathan,
if you present the resolution and then I, you see my eyes are going over, so I'll been call on you. Yeah. Uh, the resolution is entitled Resolution for Employee Protection Provisions and Student Transportation Contracts. Great. Motion To consider. Second. Is there a second? First? Okay. Um, motion panel member serro. Would you, uh, Yeah. Um, let's see. We can take public comment unless you wanna introduce the resolution first. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Well, I, the reason is, and the reason I'm doing that is because you've been taking the lead role in this,
and I wanted to give you an opportunity to maybe give us a brief explanation and some of the history, and then we'll take, uh, general public comment and we'll come back to take panel member comment. But because of your work in this area, I know this has been a passion of yours. I wanted to give you that opportunity. I appreciate that. Thank you. Um, so this resolution is, um, in support of making besting better. And one of those ways is for us to legislate better busing. Um, one of our issues are contracts. And our contracts have not been negotiated, renegotiated, or rebid in 45 years.
And so anything that has changed in 45 years is really not reflected in the majority of our contracts. And in the contracts that, that are not legacy contracts are not 45 years old, don't have employee protection provisions, which is what the legislation that we're asking for is about. So if, uh, an employee needs to keep their protections, right, they're working with our kids, they're working with precious cargo, we want them to be trained, we want them to be experienced, we want them to be paid well so that they work well. And so this bill is, um,
this resolution supports the type of legislation that epps, um, that adding EPP to our rebid contracts would help to support our new contracts. So busing is a MAs, guys, and we talk about it every month. My student talks about it every month. Contracts are the way that we get from A to B, and we have to improve these contracts. Our kids are never gonna get to school on time. They're not gonna get the services they need to receive. And so this resolution is really just calling for the city to codify in legislation, employee protection provisions, so
that we can rebid contracts to get new companies, to get new staff, to get better contracts, to add training, and a host of other things that have been updated within the last 45 years. We hope that the panel supports the resolution. We hope that anybody in the public that has council or an organization will pass the resolution so that in the next legislative session, when this gets introduced to be passed as law, that all of our legislators, that the city council, that the panel, that everybody knows that this is something that we want
and need to make sure that our kids get everything they need. Thanks. Thank you. And so now we'll move to public comment. The speakers signed up for public comment on the resolution are Berg Maria Morales, um, Sarah Lindo, Christina Collins, and Johnny Stevens. Thank you. So, so as speaker to my left, you can start and just introduce yourself please. Cool. Hi everyone. Uh, my name is Naya Berg. I am the Executive Director at New York Appleseed.
Um, I'm here today in support of this resolution. New York Appleseed has brought together a coalition of advocates, uh, parents organizations to call the Road to Better busing Coalition with main goals of improving student transportation. We have focused heavily on this school bus contract dilemma that New York City public schools seemingly found itself in, in which over 70% of contracts, school bus contracts have not been updated, uh, for, uh, they're 45 years old, so 1979, I believe.
Um, but these contracts have been extended year after year to protect the employee protection provisions in them. And we cannot rebid on new bus contracts without legislative change. We are encouraged by this relu resolution and, and support this passage because it builds on momentum of the work that we have done within this past winter and spring, not only for legislative change, but also understanding that we can, uh, we are in a time of negotiating contract extensions and we cannot have a long-term extension.
So in the time when we have both an immediate need for legislative change, as well as bringing together that, we also need to push for, ooh, sorry, it's been a long day, y'all. Um, but both having the, uh, legislative change, but also make sure that we're limiting extensions to the shortest extension possible. Uh, bringing those two together as a main goal. And we saw that in this resolution. And we support, we have had multiple town halls. We have had a sign on letter that's been signed on by 24 different organizations that are in support
of not only what's in this resolution, um, but what I've also talked about today. So if you have any questions, because we understand that this is a very complex issue, I, uh, extended invitation to reach out to me at enberg@newyorkappleseed.org. And I am happy to both have a briefing or give you recordings of the briefings that we've done on this issue that not only support what you are voting on today to pass, but also will support the momentum for the future. You, You know, your, your timing is perfect. I was just gonna ask you at the end of your presentation,
well, have you concluded your testimony? I need, I'm gonna, Uh, this Yeah. I just have, uh, notes today, but I can send testimony, sign on letters. Yeah. I actually have a whole one page resource that I can send to the page for Education. Please, please do. Because one of the things I've talked to our engagement committee about doing is having a specific, um, uh, public hearing on this topic and bringing the experts together, um, to really have a conversation about, um, this, this is the one complaint, you know, in my neighborhood, people who somehow recognized me.
I, they're watching these things and recognizing, and the one thing that comes to me about is bus service. Yeah. And, um, so, but I think there's a, a way that we can, by working together, we can pull the experts and, and really come up with something, uh, very positive. So if, if before you leave, make sure that we have your contact information Yeah. Um, so that we can follow up with you and, uh, take, use you like some of your expertise. Yeah, Absolutely. If you happy to Share it. Appreciate that. Make sure, let's make sure that that happens. Thank you. Um, sorry, who's next? Uh, next speaker, speaker to the right, Please.
Re I really appreciate her for bringing her notes in English too. 'cause otherwise I wouldn't be able to catch up. Sure. Okay. Good evening panel. My name is Maria Morales, and I'm the Bronx Parent and Community Liaison for the United Federation of Teachers. A rising support of the solution for employee protection and a student transportation contracts. This resolution is not just about contract language, it is about standing up for the dignity, safety, and future of the workers who ensure our children get to and from school. Every day. School bus drivers and attendance play an essential role in the lives
of New York City families. These are the people who greet our students each morning and bring them home safely. If each afternoon, yet far too often, their vital work is undervalue. Every New Yorker deserves opportunity to make a decent living, to have a stable job with good wages, benefits, and protection. When we fail to provide that for our school transportation workers, we send a message that their labor isn't worth fighting for. But we know better if we expect to retain qualified,
compassionate, and dependable drivers and attendance. We must fight for their ability to leave, to eat, to provide for their families, and to grow in their careers. Now is the time to come together and take action. Protecting employees through fair contract provisions is not just a good policy. It's necessary for the safety and wellbeing of our students. And as we look to improve transportation services, we must also expand access to include afterschool programs so that all students, regardless of Sitco, have the support they need to succeed
beyond regular school hours. Let us work in solidarity to build a transportation system that reflects the values of fairness, safety, and opportunity. I urge the panel for educational policy to pass this resolution and take a firm stand for those who keep our students moving forward every day. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a speaker on my left, sir, going back and forth tonight? Yes. Um, I'm Johnny Stevens. I'm with Parents to Improve School transportation. P****d. And I have been p****d for 13 years
over the policy that been allowing our children to sit on the bus for hours and hours, and parents losing their job and grandparents taking up the slack and youth working with their siblings. Um, this has been an ongoing crisis, and to me it hasn't gotten any better. But with organizations, as we're speaking to now, and community groups we're encouraged to continue to fight, to give our kids civil rights,
basic human rights to go to school, come back, and give back to their community. Our organization of thousands of family members of, of current and past riders on the Yellow School Bus has supported the employee protecting division to allow a rebid of those contracts without the problem that we had in 19 and 2013. We remember the suffering that occurred when the contract bid without the EPP, um,
provoked a strike and caused mass layoffs of experienced drivers, attendance, and mechanics. Even those companies which kept the EPP dropped wages and benefits across the workforce, which scared most people away from the job, as well as we warned them. Everyone could see now that school busing shortage and us are harming, um, our students and our youth. We need you to move to hold on to the seniors workers
who can show new recurrence and to do work with high school, with high standard pride and compassion to their students and to their workforce. Parents who are in need of safe, reliable, sustainable busing want this as seen by the resolution, which the City Council for District 75 passed last week in favor of the EPP education. Educators want this as seen by the UFT
resolution, which is set to be voted on, on the fall, including our voices and the determination that turns need to change. Excuse Me, sir. I'm, I'm sorry to do this, but your time has expired, and I'm particularly sorry to do this because I'm gonna ask for your help. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, you, I, your organization seems like a group that we need to be having regular conversation with, so, um, let's also make sure that we get your contact information. And if you'd be willing to assist us in pulling together a group to have this conversation go a little bit further,
that would be really, um, uh, great. And so if we could, uh, make sure, if you're willing, that we get your contact information and we'll follow up with you and, uh, continue this conversation further. Is that something that you think would work? Thank for your time. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for coming. Alright. You know, we have so much expertise out here and we're discovering it, you know, um, um, here. So again, we'll be doing some follow up with folks, um, to really see if we can really dig into this issue and make and create some progress. Um, yes. Speaker on the right. Am I right? Thank you. Uh, good evening, members of the pep.
My name is Christina Collins. I'm Director of Education Policy for the United Federation of Teachers, and I'm here to express the UF T's strong support for the resolution before you tonight. Um, for 45 years, our city has been trapped in this cycle of renewing outdated school bus contracts. Uh, over 70% of those contracts are still in place, and they're incapable of meeting the modern needs of our students. They don't account for things like afterschool activities, summer rising programs, weekend programming that are essential for our students. And this isn't just an inconvenience.
This is a systemic failure that directly impacts the educational opportunities and wellbeings of the over a hundred thousand students who rely on this Yellow Bus service every single day. Um, particularly our students with disabilities. And the resolution before you tonight recognizes this critical reality proposing a one year extension and only a one year extension. Why? Because this limited timeframe is absolutely essential to achieve the state legislative change required to include employee protection provisions or epps in these new school bus contracts.
Without epps, any attempt to rebid on the new contracts would fail to protect the needs of our school bus workers. A one year extension provides us with a focused window to push for this vital legislative change. We ask you to support this resolution to give us the necessary time to secure PPS paving the way for truly modern, comprehensive and student-focused bus services. Thank you. Thank you. I know, I don't know. Okay. Again, Sarah Catalano from Parents to Pro School Transportation. I'm just gonna pick up, um, where, uh, Johnny left off.
Um, we were just gonna say that, um, sorry. I, the voices of the parents, the students and the workers need to be included in determining what terms need to change in any upcoming contracts. Um, we hope everybody here works as hard as we volunteers and Rema especially have been working to get legislation passed and to demand, uh, recruitment of our youth and community members into the student transportation
workforce school bus services. A civil right hiring cannot only be left up to the company owners who may not be excited about paying two drivers where they can assign double work to one driver. Let's make the goals of this resolution into a reality over the coming year. And just so you have it, uh, in your memory, the, uh, state Senate bill is S 1 0 1 8, and the Assembly companion bill is a 8 4 4 0 forward
to better busing. Thank you. And getting them safe tonight. Thank you. Okay. See, uh, that is the end of the speaker sign up for public comment. Okay. So, so I want to give again, Rema as the maker of the motion, the first opportunity to speak, and then we'll recognize Panel Member Shepherd, and then we'll go around she walk. Now, I just want it to be okay. I wanted to be added as a co-sponsor. You are at it. Appreciate it. Easy. I I wanna thank everybody for this. Um, I've been working on this for 16 years. Literally, my kid is eight. My kid will be 19 in August.
We've been on the bus since he was 18 months old. And we have been fighting busing. My, my, my kid has three hour, has been on a three hour bus ride. We've had to fight for limited time, which is still not respected. I quit my job this year because we, we couldn't, we didn't have stable busing for both of my kids. And so I just, I epitomize the problems in the system and the effect that that has on families. My daughter is here every month talking about busing for the last three years. By the way, it's not like three months.
It's not, it's three years. She's 11. It's like a quarter of her life. So I just wanna contextualize for everybody, like the, the trick trickle down effect that this has. My kids have not been able to participate in after school. My daughter has staff saying, oh, you finally showed up to school. No, the bus finally showed up. The para finally showed up, and then I got here. And so I wanna thank her for always being brave and, and speaking up for the injustices, even when it results in, in bullying, right? Because that's what happens when you advocate. But this is special here
because everybody's on board with this. Everybody wanted to help and how do we support and how do we sponsor? And what do you need? And who do we have to call? And cool. I know this elected cool. I live here and there. A lot of people came together. That Road to Better Busing Coalition is, is like, we have a really great team. And I, I really wanna say that the only people still here are OPT and Face. So thank you. I, I don't know this school, there's a little bit of like DSF, but for the most part, that corner over there is OPT.
And I wanna thank you guys for staying. And they've been partners in this too. And this is one of the first times in this 16 years that OPT has been a partner that the parents and the staff and OPT want the same thing. And, um, so I am, I'm grateful to have this presented in our last meeting in the Bronx, and I hope that everybody votes. Yes. Thank you. Sure. Um, Rema, do you wanna just note the, um, the one typographical error correction so that it is three typographical Errors or actually, so that there's actually one, one.
So we did reference in the, um, in the resolution, the current legislative bills proposed. They will change next session and we will let you know so you can follow and support those. Um, and then the one type typographical error is that in the end, the last sentence does New York City Public Schools. And it should say the Panel for Education policy. Thank you. Thank You. Okay. Great. Are there any other panel members? Panel member Ali? Thank you. Chair Faulkner. I would like to be added as a co-sponsor. Thank you. Okay. Does anybody else wanna raise? And B Yes.
Cos you're all added. Dr. Does anybody not wanna be added as a co-sponsor? Let's put it that way. So you have, I think everybody, thank you Reba, uh, is is co-sponsor of this resolution. Um, are there any panel members who wish to comment on the resolution panel? I Thank you Chair first. Um, I'd like to, on behalf of the Comptroller Express, um, his deepest gratitude to panel member is Kyoto and all of the parent advocates, especially those
who are part of P****d, who have been fighting this fight for decades on behalf of their own children. And on behalf of every child in the system who depends on bus service, and we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I wanna start by giving you a number. Um, and that number is 62,000. That's the number of students in New York City with IEP mandated bus transportation. That is also more than the total public school enrollment of the city of Seattle, Washington.
And that speaks to just even just a portion of the number of students who are impacted by these, um, outdated bus contracts. Um, our office recently did a survey on after school of 627 principals, um, including a number from district, um, 75. And the results that we got from that survey were quite striking. We recently put out a report on this, um, titled Stranded After School. And this is just one measure of the impact
that the busing issue has. A hundred percent of the principals who responded to our survey from District 75 said that bus transportation was a barrier to their students participating in afterschool. And of the other principals outside of district 75, fully one third of them said bus transportation is a barrier to their students participating in afterschool. Imagine that the entire city of Seattle, Washington, every student in that city cannot go to after school. And that is just really a travesty for those students
who are amongst the most vulnerable and high need in this city. So the comptroller 100% supports this resolution. 100% wants to see that legislation pass in the next legislative cycle. Wants to see just a very short term extension on the current bus contracts so that we can be in a different place having a different conversation this time next year. Thank you. Thank, thank you very much. Um, any other Pam? Pam Shepherd? Um, chair Faulkner?
I would, uh, when we get to that point, I guess, um, if I say it then we gotta stop. But I would move that we adopt this resolution by unanimous consent. I, I would agree. And I assume there were no other, I I think panel member, um, do you wanna comment? Said I didn't wanna say so Hold that. I'll re recognize you and then we'll recognize panel member Alban for, uh, comments. I'm just Gonna keep this brief. I wasn't gonna say anything, but it's, it's, it's a long time. It is like the all issues every year is the same issues and we can't get it right.
And I said one of the key things of making sure that our students arrive on time. You heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they should be present for breakfast. They should, was to have the opportunity to eat breakfast so they can, they can learn, you know, we need to feed the brain. So this is really another key reason, um, was for safety, for their learning. They need to be in school on time and, and, and early so they can have the breakfast that they receive for free. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um, are there any panel members who wish to comment? You panel member? Fin it's late.
Margie, I would like to thank you so much, Rima, for the work you've done 35 years in the system. Unlike you, I gave up four years ago where I take my son in the morning, go back home in the afternoon, go back four rides a day, but we don't say anything because it's much better. How can you trust your child if you want people to protect your child on the bus, but those people don't have protection. Just think of that. I think that contract should go the Smithsonian for being so, so long to, I mean, this is ridiculous. Thank you for the work.
Sure. Thank you. Yeah. Panama Ellis. I would like Dr. Elli. I would like to add also to Rima. Rima. Thank you very much. This is, uh, incredible. So I, I became the driver in the family, so I just, I just, you know, let everything else down and that, that, that's my, you know, I'm the chauffeur because, uh, I think that, well, this transportations, as somebody said it in the room, it's uh, it's, it's human rights. I mean, it's part of human rights,
but also we would like these kids to have after school because when they have after school, it's just like a whole uh, uh, c command class of opportunities that open in front of, of these kids and talents and et cetera. So, I don't know when is that going to be sold, but that's your next, next task. Thank you so much. I got 10 more Years in this system. I'm just saying. Okay. Thank you. Any other, any other panel member comments before panel member? I also want to thank our staff, our team know, and that team, because, you know, they were their help in making this possible
that we can get this in on and, and on time would not have happened. And I think sometime they, they sit behind us and, uh, you know, they, they, they shun the spotlight and I know they're gonna get angry. Uh, but I, but I couldn't resist. I had to do it and say that, um, they really were in, you know, invaluable in making sure that we got this in and that we were able to make this happen. And that we are able to have this, this recognition today. And I wanna thank the staff and the work that they do often quietly, um, without the recognition. But I think at times sometimes we need to take a pause
and thank the folks who helped to make this all possible. So thank you team. And pass that on to the other members of the team as well. Um, panel Member Shepherd. Thank you. So before I, I move something, um, I do want to say I've been on this panel for five years and we have, um, reviewed a lot of bus contract extensions. Mm-hmm. And we reviewed the insurance contracts for those buses. And, um, it has been an ongoing issue,
um, that we want to make sure that any long-term, uh, bus contract that we negotiate, uh, includes protection for the folks that drive those buses. Mm-hmm. So, um, uh, I am really happy that we are in a place where we are sending a loud and clear message mm-hmm. That, um, you know, as, uh, panel member, uh, Dean Stack said, like, you know, how do we ask folks to protect our young people on buses if we're
not willing to protect them? Yep. Absolutely. So, yeah. With that, yeah. Um, I move that, uh, we adopt this resolution by unanimous consent. Okay. Is there a second to the motion to unanimous consent? I second. Okay. Wow. I was is there any objection to the motion to unanimous consent? He hearing No objection. The motion is adopted unanimously. Congratulations. Um, You know, a lot of, lot of work and there more work to do. Yes. And we're attempting that the folks in the audience that we've invited to join us as part of that work, um,
we look forward to really putting our heads together and really, um, uh, making something happen that's gonna be very, you know, I just remembered I was, um, standing in front of a school this past week, um, doing some of the stuff that happens during this time of the year. And, um, and a couple of bus drivers approached me and we're talking about, um, the frustration they have as drivers. And so, um, I don't know if they're listening because I gave them the, uh, yeah, yeah. I told, yeah, I told 'em to, to, to, so they're paying attention and, and felt some hope in terms of what we're being able,
what we're doing, and that we're paying some attention to this. So, again, thank you. And, um, you know, I think we're gonna be able to do some, some really good things here. And I think this is a great, you know, great first, first step. Did, is that, is your hand up? We Do have some public. Oh, we Do have some. Okay. So, so we'll next move to general public comment. Um, actually we'll continue general public comment 'cause we began in the meeting earlier. We'll continue with, uh, additional general public comment. Comment. Um, the speakers who signed up and I don't think came up before, um, Maria Morales,
she came up on the reso. Okay. Darrell White. Um, Megan Ard, Aisha Rodriguez. Um, wait, someone's covered this up. I can't read it. Um, Andy Turcios. Leticia Thompson. There's one name Cupboard that I can't read. See if there's somebody who signed up there. Yeah. It's like, I can't, I can't see. It's crossed out. No, it's covered. Yeah. Under Darcell. Did, did anyone who intended to speak Signed a public comment whose name I called or didn't? Yeah, Right there to my right. Please introduce yourself. I just heard
A whole bunch of names before me, so I didn't It's okay. You may speak. Just introduce yourself so we can, uh, Good evening, Leticia Thompson. Great. How are you everyone? Um, so firstly, I want to say, um, shout out to the Bronx for yet again. Thank you. Yes. Put your xs up every single time. Um, I want to also give a hearty thank you to, uh, Tom for sticking in there representing us, and, um, actually rallying the Bronx parents, um, and getting us engaged in ways
that we probably would've never thought to get engaged before. Um, it's been critical for the Bronx. We are still housing the poorest congressional district in the country. And so, um, no matter how much, uh, resources you throw at it, we are always going to need the parent voices to be strong, loud, and righteous. Um, and also persevering. Right? And as you can see with our representative, Rema is scared though. Um, we also have to bring our children along because we have to teach them early how to self advocate.
Uh, and so I want to thank you, Tom, for really highlighting that by staying in it, it's not easy to do this work. Um, you are ostracized, you are targeted. Uh, you are labeled, you are lied on. Um, lots of things are happening behind the scenes in this political atmosphere, but I wanna say thank you for that because what it shows is that the Bronx is and still does care about their community. Um, I've been working all day out in the field, in this field in the Bronx. And so I wanna say thank you to all of those who will watch this later.
Thank you for coming to the bullying Town hall earlier. Thank you for showing up at the CAP Community Board meeting today. Thank you for discussing, um, supporting our community, uh, across all the districts, but especially District eight. I want to give you guys a shout out because you were with me all day today. Um, right. Shout out to District A, like we doing big things. Um, and so to all of those who will join us in next term, July 1st, please, parents show up, show out. Be strong, be loud, and be righteous when you're doing things.
Don't take the payments, don't make the deals. Stand firm 10 toes down on what you know is going to be righteous at the end. Thank you so much. Peace Bronx. Always. Thank you very much. And I can't believe you did that right on time. It was like right. Hit the moment there. Thank you very much for your, uh, attendance here today. And the other speaker whose name I couldn't read before was Amy s but any of the names that I call, please make your way down to the mic. That's it. Yeah, it's just covered up. Hi, evening. Um, evening.
A panel for panel for Educational policy. My name is Amy Sai. I am the community education counselor. I am personally saying it on behalf of my own self as a Bronx parent. I just came tonight to Christopher Columbus High School to say to our pep members, CC Rep for the Bronx, uh, Tom Shepherd, thank you so much for really supporting the community and for the CCC members in the Bronx. I seen you fight through our kids, uh, when you ran for the CCC for Citywide five years ago.
And your endurance, your consistency, your commitment and dedication really, um, is a success to our community. So I just wanna say congratulations and best endeavors to you. And thank you so much for, uh, all the work you have done here on the pep. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Like, we're done. We're done. Okay. Uh, we'll now open the floor panel member comment. Do you mind if I say one thing? Sure. Real quick. Yeah. I, I, I said earlier, I did speak up. Hold. I, sorry. I did say earlier, I stopped the clock on you just Yeah, no, no. But I spoke up front so I'm not gonna do it again.
I just want to, um, just say to, um, my community that I have said, and y'all have heard me say it a thousand times, that there is no place on the planet of Earth I would rather live than right here in the Bronx. And my kids know the same thing. They feel the same way. And that's why underneath this suit jacket, I'm wearing a T-shirt for Lehman College, because that's where both of my girls are attending school this fall. Great. You see y'all in a little bit. Love you. Aliyah and Ayana have fun at your prom.
And as part of that, we gotta make sure that we keep the Bronx affordable for the people who are here. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Um, uh, thank you Chair Faulkner. Uh, I, I am jumping ahead the line a little bit because I haven't said anything tonight, but there's some really important things that I feel like, uh, I need to uplift. Uh, first I wanna recognize Pan member Tom Shepherd, uh, for his service to the entire city. Uh, and, and, and there's so many things that he's done with us and for us that, that I can't even enumerate all of them. We'll, we'll make a list and post it on our website. Uh, I want, I want to recognize, uh, pan member, uh,
Maryam Ache Ellis, uh, who, who's currently not sitting here, but she was just here. Uh, and she did some amazing, uh, work in the time that she spent on the panel, but also specifically helped me out when we had an alert with ICE around PS 15 K in Brooklyn. Mm-hmm. And she was able to get to the school in minutes, speak to the school staff and, and clarify the situation in a way that really settled things down. But we still have ongoing issues around the city in the Bronx, especially this morning. Uh, and in uptown Manhattan and Brooklyn and Red Hook and Sunset Park every day we're getting reports and, uh,
and I thank the DOE for working with us on this, uh, near schools. So it's getting closer in a way that that's very uncomfortable. And, and so in on, on that front, I need to recognize the comfo of Brad Lander, who did some, uh, amazing putting his body on the line. Uh, was it yesterday? Yeah, yesterday. 'cause I was down there for four hours doing jail support, I guess, whatever that's called. Uh, helping, uh, to rally and, and, and, and had so many of our elected leaders came out, I wish we saw some more of them, some were missing, uh, but, uh, that really spoke out and, and made sure that he was released. And I thank the governor
for personally going in there and getting him out. Um, and, and finally, Dylan is still in custody, uh, from Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx. Uh, he has been ordered, released based, based on his case not being dismissed properly, following due process of the law is is still holding him. And then, uh, we know now the name of the Grover Cleveland High School student. His name is Derise Toa. Uh, and he's an 11th grader who was also taken in, in a similar fashion. I'll read a little bit. Sterly was going to school at Grover. Cleveland has no criminal record, has a great community
of friends that are very supportive, and he took care of his younger brother and sister, often picking them up from school and making them dinner. There's a story published already, you can read on it, is public information. Uh, we always respect the wishes of the student and their family and their lawyers and not go around publicizing things before they're ready. And they know that they're probably represented, but both Dylan and Les need to be at home right now, back in their school before schools close over. Uh, and I wanna thank everyone who has been really supportive. And I, I want to condemn the people that are doing this. Um, thank you so much. Yeah. And I want to thank you for raising, uh,
for raising those concerns. You know, we sometimes have been hearing the word and I keep hearing them say, these kids are being detained. They were kidnapped. Right. And I think we ought to be very clear with that because we clean it up with detained or being held. These are children who are literally being kidnapped off the streets of the city of New York and around the nation. And we ought to begin to call it exactly what it is and not, you know, sugarcoated. It is, it is unacceptable. And we gotta keep raising those names and raising those thoughts and, and also protect, um, you know, children. 'cause then none of us are gonna be safe, you know? And so I think I, I thank you for continuing to do
that in which you do that every meeting. Um, who's next? Yes. Panama. Panama, Al Panama, Alban. And I'll come back to you. Panama lie. Sure. I problem. Okay. I have, uh, Wait. Did I, I didn't see your hand. I'm sorry. Let Her go first. Yeah. Okay. Let her go first. Go ahead. Listen, I spoke too much. It's okay. It's okay. Um, so I'm gonna start with like the, 'cause I don't wanna end on it. I'll start with it. Um, we in the Bronx have seen an, a huge uptick in violence in youth, on youth violence, um,
in, in students dying in these violent incidences. Um, bystanders getting caught in shootouts, whether it's going to the store, whether it's driving in their car, gonna school, coming home. Um, so I, I I just wanna say that yes, as the, um, speaker said earlier, keep throwing the resources, but also talk to us first because we can't throw money at a problem and hope it fixes itself. We have to actually target the way that we spend and be intentional about what the issue is, who we plan to affect, and how we plan to do that moving forward.
Tom, my friend guys, so Tom, right? Me and Tom, we scammed buses together in the summer, which I'm still doing this summer, guys, by the way. I appreciate the resolution. I'm still doing it. Um, but I mean, we've walked through schools and we've reported stuff and we've celebrated stuff. And we've been on meetings at 10:00 PM with our executive super about how we gonna fix the Bronx and how we're gonna be better and come together. And so I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to thank my co-conspirator partner in crime. Don't leave me high and dry. Tom Shepherd.
Thank you so much. Thank You. Okay. Thank you. Um, yes, Pamela. All right. So there's two things I'm gonna follow up with. Nare and Rima. Um, will you see what's happening across the country? Our city, you know, the events, remember for those who thought your vote don't matter. Your vote matters. It votes matters who you elect in that seat. You gotta make sure your elected individuals that will support you, your family, this city resources
that represent, actually represent your needs as New Yorkers. It's primary. We early voting had already started Tuesday's primary day. Please keep in mind because things can't change if we don't all stand up and make changes. Right? And in this climate, we all have to support each other. And, and when, especially when it's affecting students, is it affecting our family? It affects our cities as a whole. We really need to stand together, right? We saw a glimpse of people standing, um, together a few days ago. We need to continue that and step it up, right? So I'm, that's it with the, the, the real serious stuff.
So now I'm gonna go to Tom. So I'm wearing my jersey, even though I was planning to, anyway, Tom asked us to wear our favorite je so our favorite jersey. And, you know, I'm a Queen's girl. Well, I'm a Brooklyn girl, but I'm a Queen's girl. And if you don't know by now, I am amazing. This girl loves her. Mets always amazing mets. So that's why I'm wearing this jersey. And I found time On behalf of the Bronx. You're out of order. Yes. I grew up in State Stadium. Yeah. So that is very funny. And Tom, you are just as amazing as the Mets.
We need more Toms right? And I own all the way we need to be like Tom and, um, representing Queens. We, um, you know, we're a little crazy here, but we do have something for you that's probably be a little unique. You don't know if you wanna Me just dangerous To you, but, but you are an example of standing up for your community, standing up for children, standing up for families, standing up for the Bronx, standing up for New York City. We all need to keep that in mind. 'cause together we can do anything. So thank you so much for your service. Tom.
You want, do you want 'em to come get it or did you pass it around? Not ticking. Sh Should he open it in public? Yeah, sure, Sure. Yes, Sure. Totally can Take a look at it first before you display it. You know. Sorry, did I unsal too. Okay. Oh, wow. Look at you. Turn around. Turn, turn. Oh, oh, that's nice. So that's nice. So it says, I survive five years of the pep. Oh. And it has Tom, she in the back again. Thank you for your service. So
Thank you. Okay. Any other, uh, who is next? Wait, did I, sure. I'm sorry. Yeah, I Just quickly, uh, like to take you Tom, too, we meet long time ago, over five years when he one CCC, and supporting community and supporting multilingual learners from that time to today. And thank you, Tom for, you know, listen all languages. Thank you. Okay, Pam Muai. Thank You, chair. On behalf of Comptroller Lander, I would like
to express his tremendous gratitude to Panel Member Shepherd for your unwavering commitment to serving the students and the schools and the parents of the Bronx and the entire city. His commitment to always asking the really important questions and demanding answers for always standing up for those who otherwise might have no voice in the matters that come before this panel. Thank you, Tom. You began that statement. I thought you were gonna give 'em a check from the controller, you know, when have
for the controller, um, As, as I've mentioned before, chair, our office does not write checks. Okay. Um, Cash would do. Comptroller Lander is also very grateful to you Chancellor, to the New York City Public schools leadership team. Superintendents, principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, custodial engineers, school food professionals, school counselors, teaching artists, PSAL coaches, school safety agents, related service providers, school librarian, community service providers,
contracted three K and pre-K providers, and all the other members of our school communities who are too numerous to mention, but who have all worked so hard this past school year to provide New York City's children with academic enrichment, with a sense of belonging and with the genuine love that we want for all our children every day at school. Thank you. Happy Juneteenth and best wishes to everyone for a restful and restorative summer. Great. Thank you. Um, any other panel members who wish comment? Yes. VO fair?
Good evening, everyone. Um, shout out to you. I was pondering because I had to think about when I first came on pep two years ago. And, um, I had got a late text in the middle of the night of somebody wanting to talk to me to interview me over the phone. And I was like, to wait. This is not the time I work with the CEC. And we actually had a late night conversation and his first question was, Amy, what is your intentions for the Bronx? And I said, well, Tom, you forgot. I'm born and raised here. You know how I get down. I might be very quiet, but I'm very powerful, just quietly. Um, and I said that, you know, my goal is to
respectfully agree to disagree at times, right? Be supportive where I can be neutral, where I can, right. And fight where I can. So, you know, I've watched you over the years and you definitely fight hard. Nobody can take that away from you. And I love how you are bold and proud to be a proud, bold black man who's trying to make changes in the Bronx community. And I acknowledge that and I celebrate that. Um, and I also celebrate the fact that while we have bumped heads at times, right, on different things, that we still been able to shake hands
and, and hug each other at the end, at the end of the day. And I appreciate that about you. So I wish you peace and blessings to you and your family. Um, also, you're an excellent father. It's really important that we acknowledge that too. You always acknowledge your kids and it's really important that we acknowledge our fathers as much as possible. So I wanna acknowledge you publicly with that, especially when we walked in together and I saw you with your son and you expressed that you had literally just left your daughters and you went to go pick up your son from taking his region. So I really celebrate you. I applaud all the work you've done, not just with Pat, with CEC and everything you've done in the Bronx community. So again, may God continue to bless you and shine on you.
By the way, I forgot you ran against me for vice chair of the panel and you did many I It's all coming back now. It's all coming back, you know. Um, any other, Uh, I would like to say something. Yes, Ellis, so I'm here tonight, the representative for Brooklyn. And I, I have to say to you, thank you for all you did all these years and, uh, five year, uh, five years. Yeah. So, uh, I have to I five years that made the beginning of the, the, the COVID remember? Mm-hmm. And we had all the hearing up
to two o'clock in the morning and you had to wait to, you know, to say your, when they say your name, not to miss your name, be awake. And then, uh, you would be, you know, here on the panel. I mean, not on the panel, but anyway, whatever. And I would be, oh my God, who is this powerful man? I, I really need to pay attention when you speaks. And then I was, you were always talking with so many microphones around you. I was sure you had some podcast or some show. And I wanted to subscribe to that to continue listening to you. So this is the whole truth. And on behalf of whole, uh, Brooklyn Borough, I thank you
for everything you did, and I remember you show us the, the way. Yes, go ahead. No. So you remember the fish tank in the microphone, huh? Yes, absolutely. I was super, uh, impressed and it's, I listen to you even more, so thank you. Thank you, thank you. And also thank you panel member Ellis for your service on the panel. I wanna recognize you as well, uh, for the time that you serve. Okay. And Stay with you for, for more years, but for More. But, but you know, I'm sure you'll, you'll continue to lend your voice. And I'm, I've listened and seen that you have, um, before you came to the panel,
you were a leader in the education area in New York City. And I'm sure that's gonna continue, um, into the future. So I, but I do wanna thank by the service. Thank you. You're Welcome. Okay. Anyone else at this point? No, I don't see anyone else. Chair fa? Yes. Um, hearing no other comments, I would move that we adjourn for the evening. Okay. Second. Is there, okay. Stay. The next meeting. Is there, uh, I don't know. I'm lost now. Uh, next meeting. Yes. Uh, yeah. Our next meeting is gonna be held at, um, on July 23rd at MS 1 31 in Manhattan.
Um, is there any objection to the motion to adjourn? No. Seeing no objection. This meeting is adjourned. Thank members of the public for coming out and we'll see you in uh, July. No.